Debate contribution: Family Court System
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 2 June 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Family Court System
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4981110
Read the official Assembly record
Text
We have set aside additional funding for legal aid in year. Those who are seeking general advice and legal representation, where they are enabled to do so and are entitled to legal aid, should be able to do so more readily. As the Member may be aware, in the previous mandate, we included a waiver for domestic abuse, which was to allow those who were engaged in family proceedings and who were victims of domestic abuse to have the monetary test for legal aid waived so that they could access it. That has not been the success that we had hoped for and does not seem to be used as regularly as we would wish. One reason for that seems to be the complexity of the application process, so we are looking at simplifying it. Obviously, decisions in individual cases are and will remain a matter for the independent judiciary, but any party who is concerned about the outcome or handling of their case can seek legal advice on whether there are grounds for appeal. Complaints have also been made to me about social workers, but those are a matter for the Department of Health, which is responsible for matters relating to their training and regulation.
206 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.92).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.92 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.61 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.27 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.11 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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